Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush writes in a new book that Mitt Romney moved so far to the right on immigration that it proved "all but impossible" for the Republican presidential nominee to appeal to Hispanic voters last year. He says the nation needs to completely overhaul its immigration policies but cautions against providing a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

In "Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution," Bush writes that the immigration debate holds serious consequences for the nation and members of his Republican party, calling fellow Republicans "remarkably tone-deaf when it comes to courting Hispanic voters  to the extent they court them at all." If the GOP fails to change, he says the influence of Hispanic voters "will doom" the party's future...

“I dont trust politicians who make an issue about illegal aliens an issue about hispanics.’

Exactly. In addition, when I stop hearing gleeful ‘us versus them’ comments from those who like to point out that Caucasians are going to be a minority in the US, I will feel much more comfortable about where we are supposedly headed. Those who want a cohesive ‘everyone is welcome’ colorblind society do not make comments in that manner.

Romney was an idiot. He keeps trying to explain to us why he lost. He seemed to think that being anti-Hispanic and pro-Obama was somehow going to benefit him. Sorry I even voted for the guy, except that there was nobody else.

He who has the gold makes the rules. The Bush family has tremendous influence over the big money donors to the Republican Party. If Jeb want to run in 2016 odds are much better than 50/50 he will be the nominee.

George W. demonstrated in 2000 and Romney in 2012 the importance of funding. If you can line up the big money before the primary season begins you will outlast your opponents. Unfortunately, the cost of advertising and running a ground game today is so high it is impossible to fund it exclusively with Mom & Pop contributions, no matter how committed your supporters. The boring technocrat Romney outlasted the rest of the field, including Ron Paul and his passionate supporters, because he had plenty of money not because he was the best candidate.

Jeb is out publicly doing the things necessary to run. He’s in the media, he positioning himself as different from the candidate who lost (Romney) and he has published a book. No doubt Pappy, George W., and Marvin Bush are working the phones hard lining up the bigwigs and dollars early behind Jeb in 2016.

George W. would likely have never been governor of Texas, much less President without his father’s money, power, and connections. The Bush family is the Republican Kennedy family with respect to political power. They may be less flashy publicly but they are just as deadly when it comes to playing hardball power politics.

Unless Jeb does something stupid, or has an undiscovered skeleton in the closet, he will likely get the nomination. Rubio is unlikely to oppose him. Supporting Jeb almost certainly gets Rubio the second spot on the ticket as well as access to and support of the power players behind the curtain. Plus Rubio is young and has many opportunities in the years ahead to play on the national stage. Rubio is smart and knows if he bucks the establishment and loses he will never have another chance while if he plays ball he’ll have his turn and the support of the kingmakers.

Gingrich will be too old in 2016 as will Ron Paul. Bachmann, Cain , Christie and Perry blew themselves up in 2012 plus don’t have access to the big money necessary to make it all of the way through the primaries. Cruz is too new to the scene and being from Texas understands the power of the Bush family and won’t want to go against them. Romney said this week he will not run again. West couldn’t win reelection in Florida so he is unlikely to be considered a serious candidate. Palin will have zero support from the establishment and probably can’t raise the money. Her best shot was 2012 and she passed plus she is toxic with the both the media and the Republican establishment. Rand Paul, like Cruz, is too new on the scene to pull in the big money. If he wants to be the Republican nominee someday like Rubio he knows if he goes up against the Bush family and loses he’ll never get another chance.

Money = power in politics, particularly given the high cost of running a campaign. The party elites have shown they will turn their backs on the conservative base in a heartbeat. Plus if Jeb faces opposition in the primaries he’ll have the media behind him. The media hates the conservative wing of the party and will delight in supporting Jeb as the “reasonable” alternative. As soon as he locks up the nomination they’ll gladly turn on him.

If conservatives want a voice in the 2016 elections their best bet is to get behind a candidate now, raise the money, and organize a third party. The party establishment is not going to allow a conservative to be nominated and will get behind Jeb quickly if he decides to run.

If there is a surprise between now and the 2016 election it will likely be Christie pulling a Charlie Crist and switching parties at a time calculated to do the most damage to the Republican Party.

At this early stage of the game, Jeb is far from toast. He is the heir apparent and is definitely making the moves expected of someone who wants to run. So far the press seems to be playing along.

21
posted on 03/04/2013 3:11:16 PM PST
by Soul of the South
(Yesterday is gone. Today will be what we make of it.)

When is the treatment of American citizens in Mexico and their rights vs US treatment of Mexicans going to be an issue when we discuss amnesty ?

This is a question: Should Mexican citizens when in the US be given the same rights American citizens are given while in Mexico? This has yet to appear on any US legislator’s questionaire from either chamber....ASK YOUR FEDERAL LEGISLATORS WHY IT HASN’T

What makes it necessary for US to subjugate our sovereignty because of available cheap labor ?

Ever hear of reciprocal aggrements ? These are arranged to protect the rights of American citizens working or living in other countries.

Why is it when it comes to citizens of other countries we are required to offer them the same privledges as we do to US citizens? But when it comes to US citizens who get in trouble or attempt to do business in other countries they do not get the same treatment their citizens get.

Americans cant own coast land in Mexico. And get no title to it elsewhere. If they run out of cash theyll get unceremoniously sent back or put in jail untill some relative comes up with the fresh. Thats just for starters as for granting them voting privledges yea lets give Mexican citizens that right when American citizens vote in their elections.

When the democrats decided to remove God or any reference to our Creator at their 2012 convention. They also demonstrated they are no longer the democratic party of your fathers father.

Rove, GOPES and RINOS and that seems to include the Bushes lack the capacity or the understanding or the courage to point to the historic radicalization that occured at that moment and use it politically.

Anyone preaching going down the poisonous road to oblivion following a policy of PCP. Politically Correct Politics which the hyphenated democrat party, the Demo-Coms,is using is flat out wrong. That offers voters no choice in the direction this country is to take.

Used by the Demo-Coms such terms as: Afro-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, White-American, Rich-American, are more than simply descriptions but are vehicles used to separate US from each other. Beside separating US from our money demand we become adhearants to a system without the constituional constrictions of government. Thus surrendering our protections from governmental abuses and excessive bureacracy but to the will of a bureaucratic collective which is no longer answerable to the average citizen.

What is amazing is in Rove’s case that Rove has a record of being incapable if responding and conducting winning campaign. Where hes been given campaigning creds” is from from those seeking to destroy political opposition chiefly the monitoring socialist media servicing Obama. Consider the missed opportunities offered by the 2012 election listed here .http://www.theusmat.com/

I’ve got my issues with Jeb, especially around immigration, but he’s right on this one. Romney unnecessarily moved to Perry’s far right on immigration to attack him. Along with Bachmann, they pummeled Perry on this issue as Perry took the lead in the race. He made the statements like self-deportation and attacked any middle of the road solutions we’ve seen in Texas, and those statements were used effectively to demagogue in the general. Bottom line, one can stand for a conservative position and avoid amnesty, and still create a better position towards the middle on this issue. Our party got beat badly on this issue this year, and not because the positions were poor...but because the politics were poorly planned.

25
posted on 03/04/2013 4:51:11 PM PST
by ilgipper
(Obama supporters are comprised of the uninformed & the ill-informed)

I have had it with the Bush name. Sometimes you can get away from a situation and become more philosophical about the event or person. I have done that with GHWB and GWB. Upon reflection, I thoroughly dislike both men with a passion.

Two of the many truly worthless politicians of my lifetime. A Bush gives us Clinton and a Bush gives us Obama. Both men are responsible for the some of the worse decades in our Country’s history.

First of all, Perry deserved to be pummeled on immigration after his “don’t have a heart” comments, as those comments were thoroughly leftist. The ‘staunch conservative’ basically parroted the liberal tactic of questioning the humanity of someone who doesn’t share their liberal views.

Second, Romney never went to the far right on immigration. He briefly spoke of self-deportation, but never bothered defending it during the general election. That’s not surprising, as Romney is probably (like the Bushes) liberal on immigration and probably didn’t even understand self-deportation. It’s a shame, because attrition-through-enforcement deserves a public hearing. Just as polling has shown a path to citizenship for illegals to be popular, so to has it shown enforcement-first, attrition policies to be popular. It’s only a ‘far right’ position because the media has done its best to render it as such. But it could be popular.

It is incredibly frustrating that Romney’s loss has been attributed in large part to his ‘conservative’ immigration policies, and for going ‘too far right’ in the primary. It’s frustrating because it’s not true. For one thing, its debatable whether or not Romney would have won had he repeated Bush’s 40% showing with latinos, while he definitely would have won had he done a little better with whites in a few key states. For another, Romney rarely articulated and never championed conservative immigration policies!

In the future, if a Republican is going to be condemned for being too conservative on immigration, can we at least get a Republican who is actually conservative on immigration? How about truly explaining self deportation/attrition? How about campaigning to reduce legal immigration? How about campaigning to abolish Ted Kennedy’s absurd Diversity Visas? How about pointing out the insane collision between racial preferences and the mass importation of people eligible for them? All of that would be truly going conservative on immigration, and that wasn’t Romney at all.

Unending mass immigration will turn Texas into a battleground state in the next 12 years or so. Only a policy that reduces immigration can stop it from eventually going blue.

Perry took the lead in the race. He made the statements like self-deportation and attacked any middle of the road solutions weve seen in Texas, and those statements were used effectively to demagogue in the general.

Bottom line, one can stand for a conservative position and avoid amnesty, and still create a better position towards the middle on this issue.

Waddya talking about there Florida?

It's never been middle of the road for conservatives. It's always been to the far left, with Republicans and Democrats both trying to out pander to the illegals...

Ya got upwards of 25 million in the country illegally...Where is the middle road?

Illegals are dropping 1000 anchor babies per month at Texas Parkland hospital in Dallas...Guess who's paying the bill? Where is the middle of the road?

Illegals are costing the American tax payers hundreds of billions due to crime, education, social services, food stamps, welfare, etc etc...Where is the middle of the road here?

Americans have been gang raped economically when it comes to illegals..They choked off our schools, jails, roads, hospitals, social services, etc...Where is the middle of the road for legitimate Americans?

What about the hundred of thousands of American victims of illegal alien crime? Where is the middle of the road there?

It seems what you call middle of the road Mr. ilgipper, means Americans continue to get ran over, betrayed, robbed, and economically gang banged while the illegals and our own government wink and nod at each other.

What's this middle of the road bull sh*t?

31
posted on 03/04/2013 6:24:48 PM PST
by dragnet2
(Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)

Perry took the lead in the race. He made the statements like self-deportation and attacked any middle of the road solutions weve seen in Texas, and those statements were used effectively to demagogue in the general.

Bottom line, one can stand for a conservative position and avoid amnesty, and still create a better position towards the middle on this issue.

Waddya talking about there Florida?

It's never been middle of the road for conservatives. It's always been to the far left, with Republicans and Democrats both trying to out pander to the illegals...

Ya got upwards of 25 million in the country illegally...Where is the middle road?

Illegals are dropping 1000 anchor babies per month at Texas Parkland hospital in Dallas...Guess who's paying the bill? Where is the middle of the road?

Illegals are costing the American tax payers hundreds of billions due to crime, education, social services, food stamps, welfare, etc etc...Where is the middle of the road here?

Americans have been gang raped economically when it comes to illegals..They choked off our schools, jails, roads, hospitals, social services, etc...Where is the middle of the road for legitimate Americans?

What about the hundred of thousands of American victims of illegal alien crime? Where is the middle of the road there?

It seems what you call middle of the road Mr. ilgipper, means Americans continue to get ran over, betrayed, robbed, and economically gang banged while the illegals and our own government wink and nod at each other.

What's this middle of the road bull sh*t?

You seem to be as scarce as a public pay phone.

Where'd ya go Mr. ilgipper?

32
posted on 03/05/2013 8:59:33 AM PST
by dragnet2
(Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)

Bush is going on a false premise here jsut like his buddies in the ema nd GOPe do tin order to fool us and treat us like we’re unable to run our own lives.

The GOPe is weaker than ever in conservative circles and they weill not get into a better position any time soon.

It’s not like conservatives who didnt vote for Romney have expressed any remorse en masse. No, they’re closer to being vindicated.

These guys with their amnesty Pheh. They should live in Texas incognito for a while. They’d find out who is the favored and it’s not the US, its kids, its traditions, culture, language, its future, its war veterans, not even its Constitution.

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